Chicago Bulls: A look back at NBA Draft history before 2017

The Chicago Bulls have the 16th and 38th overall picks in the 2017 NBA Draft. While it is difficult to find impact players at this spot, the Bulls have had limited success in past years.

The Chicago Bulls finished the 2016-17 campaign with a 41-41 record. In spite of the mediocre season, though, they managed to sneak into the playoffs thanks in large to playing against several non-playoff teams down the stretch.

After taking the first two games of their first round series against the top-seeded Boston Celtics, the Bulls were eliminated in six games. Now that the offseason has began, the team will focus on the upcoming 2017 NBA Draft.

In recent years, the Bulls have not had a ton of success with their draft selections. I previously wrote about how Marquis Teague (2012) and Tony Snell (2013) fared during their two and three-year stints in a Bulls uniform.

Bobby Portis — who the Bulls took at No. 22 in the 2015 NBA Draft — is still trying to find his niche in the rotation. Last year, the Bulls took Denzel Valentine with the 16th overall pick. Although he was billed as a versatile offensive player, injuries limited his effectiveness during his rookie campaign.

Heading into this year's draft, the Bulls will select at No. 16 and No. 38. For diehard Bulls fans, neither selection has that much significance, as demonstrated by the team's history with its previous selections.

Let's start with No. 38.

There has only been one other time in franchise history when the Bulls owned the 38th overall pick. That instance occurred back in 2004, when they selected Chris Duhon from Duke University.

During his four seasons with the Bulls, Duhon posted averages of 6.9 points and 4.5 assists per contest. As was the case with most of the point guards on the roster this season, Duhon wasn't much of a floor spacer.

While he did shoot a respectable 36 percent from beyond the arc, his overall conversion rate of 39 percent wasn't anything to write home about. Duhon went on to play for the New York Knicks, Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Now, let's take a look back at how the Bulls have done at No. 16.

In 2014, the Bulls selected Jusuf Nurkic, and traded the pick (along with Gary Harris at No. 19) to the Denver Nuggets for Doug McDermott from Creighton University. Although McDermott showed flashes of potential during his three seasons in Chicago, he and Taj Gibson were traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder back in February.

Another instance in which the Bulls had the 16th overall pick was 2009. They selected James Johnson from Wake Forest University. Johnson played two seasons with the Bulls and averaged just 3.8 points per contest on 45 percent shooting from the field.

While Johnson hasn't been much of an impact player for most of his career, he was a Sixth Man of the Year candidate for the Miami Heat this season with averages of 12.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.

If you don't remember this next scenario, you're probably not the only one. In 2006, Chicago drafted and then immediately traded Rodney Carney to the Philadelphia 76ers for the rights to the No. 13 pick Thabo Sefolosha, a 2007 second round pick and cash.

One of the more notable picks for the Bulls at the 16th spot was Metta World Peace back in 1999. MWP was a double-digit scorer in each of this three seasons with the Bulls. Additionally, he developed a reputation for being a defensive bruiser — an attribute that has never changed during his 16 years in the NBA.

With the Bulls selecting from the middle of the pack this year, it is difficult to predict whether they will get an impact player. However, it is worth noting that a certain crafty point guard was taken at the No. 16 spot in the 1984 NBA Draft.

The player in question was none other than Hall of Famer, John Stockton, who averaged 13.1 points and 10.5 assists per outing during his 19-year career with the Utah Jazz.

Taking that into consideration, along with the fact that Jimmy Butler — who was taken at No. 30 back in 2011 — has become an All-Star caliber player — Bulls fans may have a reason to be optimistic after all.